Time to offer a toast to this sassy, purple hat wearing, flirty 97 yr old who has moved on to new adventures!
Can you imagine in the late 1950’s, a young nurse from Scotland traveling by train from Toronto (where she worked at Mt. Sinai Hospital), being dropped off at a train station in the wilds of Minaki, Ontario! What was she thinking? She then made her way to the hospital/clinic at the Hydro Station in Whitedog, Ontario. The dam was just being built and here she would work as a nurse for a year or 2! During this time she met her husband (Art Harris) and that was the start of a life in Northwestern Ontario, raising her 2 daughters Jennifer and Betsy, and had a career in nursing at Lake of the Woods District Hospital for many years. She worked on Maternity, in the Emergency Department for many years, and on Surgical ward for a couple of years at the end of her career.
Right to the end you could see this adventurous spirit in the twinkle of Kay’s eyes! She loved a good party and was often the life of said party! She also stayed very active through her life with her beloved exercise classes at the Rec Centre, walks on Tunnel Island with her friends, and especially tennis which she managed to play well into her 80’s! Unfortunately, her “damn” knee slowed her down.
Kay had a passion for fashion and loved her many clothes! She continued this passion while at Pinecrest where you would often see her with her fancy hats on! They just accumulated in her room and she eventually had a wide variety of colours to match with outfits!
You can see Kay’s spirit in her grandchildren, Michael, Ian (Alcock), Erik, Katie and Karly (Lockhart) each in their own unique way! You can even see that little twinkle in the eye of her great grandson, Leo!
When departing Pinecrest, there were many comments on how she “lit up the place”, was the “sweetest”, a “favourite”, and will be “missed by many”! For this she would be so grateful, and of course relish in all the accolades and feel like the “Queen” of Pinecrest! You can imagine her in her purple hat waving just like a Queen! Many, many thanks to the staff at Pinecrest who made her last 8 months the best they could be!
So, grab a good aged Scotch and have a toast…….to Kay! May you be dancing, singing, enjoying a scotch with all the friends and family who have gone on before you, and of course, wearing all the fancy clothes and hats you like!
A Celebration of Life will be at a later date.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.brownfuneralhomekenora.com for the Harris family.